Tag Archives: Cyndi Benzel

Full of big wins, new records and exciting new products, 2017 was a great year for Team GOODE.

Here’s a look at some of the biggest stories of 2017.

Regina Rules the World(s), Again

Regina Jaquess once again led the way for Team GOODE at the World Championships, securing an unprecedented slalom/overall three-peat (2013, 2015, 2017) at the 2017 iteration held in Paris last September.

Her slalom win set the all-time mark for Women’s world slalom championships at four, breaking the record of three that she previously shared with legends Liz Allen, Cindy Todd and Helena Kjellander. Regina’s four World Slalom titles came in 2005, 2013, 2015, and now, 2017. The overall gold is the fifth of her career, the most ever for a Woman and second only behind Patrice Martin all time. She also earned a silver medal in jumping to go along with her team gold, giving her four medals during the 2017 championships.

Additional Team GOODE highlights included Felipe Miranda winning his second career World overall title and six of the 12 Women’s slalom finalists skiing on GOODEs.

GOODE Skiers Dominate Nationals

GOODE skiers won 14 national slalom titles – easily more than any other ski manufacturer – at the 75th GOODE Water Ski National Championships held in August at San Marcos River Ranch in Martindale, Texas.

New Products Top GOODE Lineup

Three new products added to the GOODE lineup in 2017 were greeted with big-time results and strong customer demand:

XTR™: Introduced at the GOODE Nationals in August, the XTR combines the world record-breaking DNA of the Nano 1XT with a trailblazing new rocker profile to create the highest performing ski in the GOODE lineup. The result? Multiple National titles, a world slalom championship, a world-record tie, two U.S. National records, and countless PBs.

Power-G-Flex™: GOODE Skis and Reflex partnered to create the Power-G-Flex system, bringing the comfort and performance long associated with the PowerShell 5 boot to the sport’s leading mechanical release system. A specially designed injection molded piece connects the PowerShell boot to the Reflex toe bar, and an added rear heal cleat secures the boot to the mechanical release. The PowerShell/Reflex pairing will come standard mounted to a G-10 carbon plate and will also feature a rear half-boot option.

The FUTURE™: GOODE’s first-ever ski designed exclusively for young up-and-coming buoy slayers, the FUTURE features all the pure carbon-fiber construction and world-record DNA you’ve come to expect in a GOODE, but with kid-friendly graphics, a more forgiving flex pattern and a great price. The FUTURE is a high-performing, no-compromises ski that will get tomorrow’s little rippers in the course and into deep shortline.

Pro Team Members Post Big Wins

Adam Sedlmajer. Photo by Des Burke-Kennedy/IWWF.

GOODE pro team members scored big victories all over the world in 2017.

Miller and Badal Face Off for Bracket Challenge Title

After four rounds and the elimination of 14 skiers, the 2017 GOODE Bracket Challenge came down to No. 1 seed vs. No. 2. Dave Miller vs. Greg Badal. Watch the video above to see who won.

National Records Go Down

Chet Raley

The U.S. National record books will look dramatically different at the end of 2017 than they did at the beginning of the year, thanks in large part to GOODE skiers.

Chet Raley first tied the Mens 6 National record, then proceeded to top it twice more, eventually ending up with a pending record of 2 buoys at 41 feet off. Joy Kelley set the Womens 6 slalom record three different times herself, ending the year with a pending record of 2 at 38 off.

Bob Hardeman set a pending Mens 8 record of 2-1/4 at 39-1/2 off, Cyndi Benzel a Womens 7 pending record of 1/2 at 38 off, Steve Raphael a Mens 7 pending record of 5-1/4 at 39-1/2 off (since disallowed due to boat path deviation) and Bill Mahan tied the Mens 8 record of 2 at 39-1/2 off.

12 #FirstTimersForFree Participate in GOODE Nationals

First time Nationals competitor Addy Flint.

Twelve skiers not only competed in their first-ever Nationals last August at San Marcos River Ranch, but they had their entry fees paid too. The #FirstTimersForFree promotion was part of GOODE’s effort to encourage Nationals participation and reward achieving major goals.

“Qualifying for and skiing in Nationals is a really big deal,” says GOODE Skis founder and president Dave Goode. “We just wanted to do something to make peoples’ first Nationals extra special and encourage even more people to come. It was really great getting to meet everyone and congratulate them personally.”

Congratulations to Chet Raley for setting a pending U.S. National Mens 6 slalom record with 1-1/2 buoys at 41 feet off at the Oct. 3-event Record Sunday last weekend at Okeeheelee Park.

Chet’s new mark tops the previous record of 1 at 41 off, which he scored earlier this summer and co-held with Kris Lapoint, and is the ninth pending U.S. National slalom record set on GOODEs this year.

Joy Kelley owns three of those marks topping out with a pending Womens 6 record of 2 at 38 off. Bob Hardeman set a pending Mens 8 record of 2-1/4 at 39-1/2 off, Cyndi Benzel a Womens 7 pending record of 1/2 at 38 off, Steve Raphael a Mens 7 pending record of 5-1/4 at 39-1/2 off and Bill Mahan tied the Mens 8 record of 2 at 39-1/2 off.

For a full list of pending U.S. National records click here, or here for the list of approved records.

It was a great weekend for Team GOODE as its skiers won a couple big tournaments and set a number of pending National records:

Vennesa Vieke took the SportsInsurance.com Queens Cup title at Little Mountain in North Carolina, beating Chelsea Mills 1.5@38 to 0.5@38 in the head-to-head finals to earn the win and a $2,000 cash prize.

Fellow GOODE skiers Joy Kelley and Cyndi Benzel took third and fifth, respectively at the Queens Cup, with Joy setting a pending National Womens 6 record of 1@38 and Cyndi Benzel setting a pending National Womens 7 record of 0.5@38.